My current 5.1 setup is fine, but totally out of date. NOTHING I currently own is either HD or HD compatible. I can't afford to drop 3 thousand dollars down all at once to upgrade everything at once, but I hate to buy things one-step-at-a-time over the next 2 years and find out the earliest purchases are already obsolete.
What should I buy first?
Currently own: *Old smallish tube TV with no modern connections *Old panasonic receiver (lacking composite, *lacking s-video, lacking HDMI, lacking DVI, *lacking optical: pretty much lacking everything) *similarly ancient DVD player *similarly ancient dish network receiver *speakers for 7.1 setup, wired, installed, and working (good news there, at least).
it all depends if you want to improve your sound or your video first. i would say you should decide between a new surround sound reciever or a new TV. im sure dish network will run you an upgrade special for an HD box for next to nothing but an HD DVR may cost a few bucks.
Agreed, about dish network. Like a drug dealer, they'll give it away cheap to get you hooked (and it'll work). The DVR is in the nice, but not essential category for now.
Also agree with needing to make a choice between audio and vid.
Seems to me, that the DVD and audio would be likely the cheaper first steps.
Think I need to start a new thread for suggestion on those components. Thanks.
Agree with Peeb. I would start with a receiver and DVD player. You can always let your receiver drive the sound and video for your TV (feed the dish or cable through the receiver and from there to your TV) and then upgrade the TV when you get to it.
Also I would not spend a lot on the DVD player at this point. Honestly even a low end Denon or OPPO will do at this point. The most important is that you have your speakers and, I assume, you are happy with them.
So basically we are talking about $400 - $700 to get started.
Thanks, Stof. I haven't really paid a lot of attention to the DVD market- just checked out the Oppo unit on google (I had not heard of them). Sounds like a tremendous bang for the buck.